Spending one day in Florence

After spending a few days in Venice, exploring historic Venice on foot but also some nearby colourful islands, it was time for us to continue our Italian journey. We took the train to Firenze to spend the rest day over there. It took us two hours to get there from Santa Lucia station in Venice. Obviously one day is not enough to visit this amazing city but we wanted to have a little glimpse of Firenze before heading to Cinque Terre.

When we arrived there, the sky was quite dull and we thought it was going to rain. We walked in front of the famous Uffizi Gallery and headed towards the Mercato Nuovo where we could find Il Porcellino (“piglet” in Italian), a bronze fountain of a boar. There was a market there, very vibrant place packed with tourists.

Since the weather was not really improving, we thought we would have food first before heading towards the famous Duomo. We had some pizza and two delicious glasses of wine.. I had a Moscatel and Le had a Chianti.. and that was the beginning of our love story with Italian wines.

When the sky cleared up, we bought a ticket to climb on top of The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Duomo. It was hard to climb these 463 steps to get to the top of the Brunelleschi’s dome. The views from there were nice, it is always good to see the town from a higher perspective but it was not “extraordinary”. No, what was extraordinary was to see the architecture of the building from inside to really appreciate this masterpiece. I was blown away.

Going down seemed easier at first than going up but it was actually quite tricky to get past all the tourists that were climbing up and was quite scary if you are a bit scared of heigh (which I am). In the end, it took me quite a long time to go down! Haha!

We then went to the Campanile, also known as the Bell Tower, and it was just awesome!!! The views from there are just amazing!! In summary, for the views, the Campanile is definitively better but for the architecture, I would recommend the Duomo. The unique feature of the Bell Tower is the rich sculptural decoration

The ticket we bought allowed us to visit the Duomo and the Campanile a swell as a the Baptistery. The inside was quit surprising, I was not expecting to see such lavish decoration.

At night we went to have food and it was probably our best meal in Italy.. that restaurant was just fabulous! Hmm that beef.. I’m still salivating!

66 Comments

Great pictures and it seems like you had a fun time. I especially liked the ones from on top of the Duomo, thank you for sharing. We visited Italy in August and Florence was one of our favourite places.

I have to say that Florence blew my mind away! It’s the only place I have visited that went straight into my heart, can’t stop thinking about it since I came back nearly two months ago! 🙂 Loved reading your post and enjoyed the great photos. Cheers.

Just climbed the Duomo and the Bell Tower in Florence a few months ago, while I was studying abroad there! I definitely would recommend climbing the Duomo as well. The interior paintings at the top are an incredible view depicting heaven and hell. Also, the food was unbelievable! My favorite restaurant want Osteria Santo Spirito.. where you can find the BEST truffle gnocchi in all of Florence. Miss it so much already!

I did both and I agree, if you have time it’s nice to do both, the Campanile is definitively better for the views over the town but for the architecture and the paintings inside, I would recommend the Duomo.darwinontherocks recently posted…Exploring Cinque Terre – visiting the 5 villages

I don’t believe you! How can you be bored when you live in such a beautiful part of the world! Autumn is coming so I’m expecting to see amazing pictures of colourful leaves anytime soon!! 🙂darwinontherocks recently posted…Exploring Cinque Terre – visiting the 5 villages

Stunning photos! I have only been to Firenze once and that was years ago when I was a backpacker and had no money! Would love to go back and explore more now. I love Italian wines too and especially the north Italian custom of late afternoon/early evening “aperitivos”! By the way meant to tell you that Le Jardin in Harrogate has closed down – it was all boarded up when I was back there in May 🙁 Hopefully something just as nice will open up in its place 🙂

It’s difficult for me to picture you as a backpacker 😀
It’s very sad to know that the restaurant in Harrogate has closed dow, the food was really delicious. all little shops are struggling and lots of them are closing down.. there only room for big chains.. a shame.darwinontherocks recently posted…Exploring Cinque Terre – visiting the 5 villages

Loved the pictures of the food, wine, and boats! But, what stood out for me was L laughing when you captured him! It’s a priceless picture. lol. Does he still blog? You make me want to visit Europe (any place) again. I’ve made many European friends in Seoul and it’s all the more tempting to visit. sigh. Hows’s the wedding preparation coming along?

Florence is a mesmerising city. I admire your determination and stamina to have climbed so many steps. I didn’t have the guts to do it, fearing I would change my mind halfway up and not being able to turn back. I heard that the staircase is very narrow and steep, allowing for only one person at a time to pass through. I was afraid that I would hold back the others behind me. So, Gin, well done! 🙂

I was happy to have made the effort to climb on top of all these steps and was rewarded with such a beautiful views! The staircase was very narrow and if you are really scare of heights it’s not the best place to have a panic attack! And people are quite pushy so you have to hurry up a little bitdarwinontherocks recently posted…Exploring Cinque Terre – visiting the 5 villages

The ceiling of the Baptistery is just mind-blowing! It looks Byzantine to me — it reminds me of the Chora Church in Istanbul. I have never been to Italy and it seems harder to choose which city I should visit first should the chance to go arise. Rome, Florence, Venice, or all the three if I have enough time. Gorgeous photos of the Duomo, the Campanile and the Baptistery!

One trip to Italy is not enough, there is so much to see over there. The history and the culture is phenomenal. People say Rome is mind-blowing but I’ve only been to Venice and Florence. I can’t wait to go back to discover more!

I can imagine 3 days were not enough.. we barely scrape the surface with one day. there is so much to see and so many museums over there! I wish I had time to visit the gardens but the weather was not really good…

Looks so delicious and gorgeous! Last night I was playing on expedia and found 2 great deals for a week. We’re debating 7 nights in Curacao for $1600 or 7 nights in Rome for $1600 (flight and hotel for 2 people not 1) in Dec. This is really hard, both are insanely good deals with nonstop flights. Vic was like, you’re confused because you want to go everywhere. It’s been 3 years since we’ve been to the Caribbean…Leaning towards Rome because that’s insane, don’t think I ever found fares w hotel that low from NY. Your Italy vacation vacation has me dreaming too.

I really like the fruit (grocery) store there. It feels more intimate than going to the regular markets. The view from Brunelleschi’s dome is awesome and the art works on the ceiling are amazing. Oh at last, the food looks great. Are they expensive?

I love Florence and loved reading your post – it brought me right back. I remember all too well that climb (and descent) at the Duomo – hard work and I completely agree about going down. We loved the Campanile and Baptistery too. I’m salivating just looking at your food pictures!

Florence is a great big gaping hole in my travel history! How have I missed the major Italian cities? I guess I am saving them for my old age, when I can’t climb mountains or zip line or hike for weeks at a time! Then again, it sounds like I have some steps waiting for me here … better get here soon. Oh, and the pizza – perhaps worth the trip right there!

It looked like such a good day in Florence! Perhaps it was because you were feeling full from the pizza that it was hard to climb up the Duomo 😀 Going down is easier and faster for me anything be it going down stairs or a hill, but if I’m not careful it will hurt my knees. Nothing like good architecture – amazing to see it stand after all these years and they tell a story of what has been right there in the past. Soooo much cheese over that beef. It looks like such a warm, filling dish 🙂

Interesting to hear you say you get lightheaded going down the stairs. For me, I might get lightheaded as I go up, especially if it’s a lot of steps going high up 😀 For me, when I look down when I’m going down, it’s not scary at all 😀

My all time absolute favourite city. I love Firenze. We are going for three weeks to Italy, primarily Sicily in about ten weeks. With a little bit of luck we might make a short side trip to Florence. I haven’t been back to Italy for 29 years. I am really looking forward to it. That pizza looks good. Louise

Oh you are so lucky!! 3 weeks!! I’m so jealous. I would love to discover Rome, Naples, Pompei, Tuscany in general, Sicily as well… the Amalfi coast.. oh Italy is so gorgeous.

I hope you will be able to make it! If you go there and plan to climb on top of the Duomo, better to buy the ticket online because we had to queue like mad in March.. so I cannot imagine how it would be during summer.